Welcome to Gaia! ::

Its difficult to avoid the one place where everyone else always goes. Its especially difficult if you're a personable feien who has been mostly alone for a long while and is remembering that being around OTHER feien is really amazingly pleasant.

Hadrian sort of tried to sneak up on the shop...only he wasn't good at sneaking or being quiet or not being seen (being that he was the color of a traffic cone) - so really, the best he managed was not saying anything when he entered.

"We're feien, darlin' there's no inapporpriate bits to be doing things with." Silva drawled absently, turning to look at the feien that had just entered. The fire boy... what was his name again? Oh well.

"You could do inappropriate things with no arms and no legs, don't give me that bullshii-iit," Dee said primly, shifting Soho, popping a kiss on her forehead and putting her back down. "I'm not a baby now. - You better not be getting up to a never-no-mind either, Ruby. Are any boys tryin' to be your boyfriend?"

It seemed Hadrian had a gift for walking in at particularly awkward points in the conversation. He nodded, smiling at the shadow feien...what was his name? Oh yes Silva. The one who went hunting, and there was Soho - who had brought up the bloodiness of the hunting. Curious family that.
He began poking around the room, rather then interrupt the conversation - he didn't really feel confident stepping into any conversation that involved 'doing inappropriate things'.

"Oh no." Soho said, shaking her head. "I don't really meet many male feien." She went on. "I don't know why, but Aleric says I'm still too young to have a boyfriend. What about you? You're so pretty I'm sure you could get any male you wanted!"

Silva just smirked and chewed on his toothpick a little.

"Now that's something I'm seriously uninterested in," Dee said, even more primly than before, if it was possible. Cousin Aleric's opinion was obviously one she shared. "There's more to life than - than that. I was thinkin' about living a life of Solitude and Beatitude. I don't need a man. I have my baby sister. Anybody who tells you you need one of those is a big fat liar."

Hadrian found he was unable to leave well enough alone at that comment.
He stepped back from the nook he had been pearing into and turned towards the female - who he had not met but whom was apparently Soho's sister.
"I think," He called, smiling brightly, "Its supposed to be a matter of want rather then need."

"Oh! Hi Hadrian!" Soho said happily, waving at the fire feien. "But I think having a boyfriend would be fun! Aleric does all sorts of nice things for his ladyfriend, like writes her poems and gets her gifts! Just think of it, Dee! Someone else to cuddle with!"

Silva's smirk turned to a scowl. "You're too young for that, Soho." He muttered.

"How d'you do," said Burgundia stiffly, smoothing her hair out again. The expression on her face was a rather more restrained mimic of Silva's. "I don't recommend holding a conversation from behind a wall, it tisn't nice. And you should rather wait until you're all grown up to speak about want. And Cousin Silva is absolutely right, you wait for cuddling until later. And even then, only if you want it, not because someone else says you have to or you feel like you oughta."

Ignoring, or perhaps not noticing, any restraint on the part of the adults, Hadrian flitted over to bow politely to Burgundia, "Apologies, the wall just happened to be in the way when I wanted to speak, and it was faster to go ahead and talk first and move later. HELLO Soho!" With this comment he turned to the juvenile with a big cheerful smile, "Its nice to see you again. And you as well, Silva," he finished, more restrained when directing his comments to the other male.
"You know...she's to young to have a boyfriend the way YOUR thinking about boyfriends, Madame, but you know she's not to young to have a boyfriend the way SHE is probably thinking about it. There's nothing really wrong with trading poems and presents and hugs as children."

"I do think Ruby's accepted enough presents from strangers as it is," said Burgundia, in a voice that had spent a week in the freezer. "I do think she just needs a childhood now. Boyfriends can wait, young man." Her expression changed. "Did you come here all on your lonesome?"

Soho blinked. "Poems and presents! And hugs are always good! I hug Mister Silva Demon and Aleric and Dee and Nick and Nack and--"

Silva just looked at him, remembering his first relationship. He had been barely a month old and he had been well into the other "type" of boyfriend status. "She's still too damn young to make up her mind." Although he doubted she would EVER be old enough to stick to her decision from the way she rattled off names.

Hadrian appeared to miss the point, "A 'boyfriend' wouldn't be a stranger though..." He sounded honestly confused. "And isn't that sort of thing PART of having a childhood?" It had certainly been part of his...he didn't want to think that was odd. He seemed very earnest, it was endearing really. And why was he being called 'young man' anyway? Very odd.
"And yes, I did come here on my lonesome...er...by myself."

"Then you should watch yourself," Dee said. "If you were a juvie, I wouldn't let it happen. These times are dangerous."

She smoothed down her worn pink dress. "Who says you need to have a boyfriend to get gifts and poems? Why can't you just have a friend? God willing, we could all use more friends nowadays. I'd value a friend before I did a lover."

"Your'e my friend, Dee! You're better than a friend! You're my sister!" Soho said happily, wanting to cheer her darling sister up more than argue the point. "But I don't see anything wrong with having a friend that's a boy." She went on thoughtfully. "Most of my family are boys!"

Soho's hair was petted, like she was a good kitten. "I know. I do think you surely need more feminine influence in your life. Bein' raised by bachelors... But there's nothing wrong with having friends-who-are-boys, sweetheart, but they don't have to be boyfriends."

"I've always travelled alone...." Hadrian said, hesitantly, tilting his head slightly. "And I admitt I've never gotten or given a poem...but," And he stopped, to let a little smile sneak onto his face as Soho spoke up, doing a better job then he had of explaining what exactly he had been trying to say. "I like to think boys make very good friends." He said, half to Soho, half to her sister.

Soho grinned proudly up at her sister. "Yeah! I keep meeting girls. And I like girls, but I'd like to meet a boy that's my own age, too, sometime."

"And if he gets too close I can always break his neck." Silva said casually. It solved his problem, at least.

"Mister Silva Demon!" Soho said. "You can't do that! It wouldn't be nice!"

Burgundia had tensed the moment Silva had mentioned breaking necks: however, all she did was turn to Hadrian, bobbing a curtsey before she baldly held out her hand.

"I'm Burgundia Lukas-Hein," she said languidly. "I surely apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I'm not used to... being without a chaperone, so to speak. I see you already know the love of my life, anyway. Are you Ruby's friend, then?"

The fire seemed to not take Silva seriously when he mentioned breaking necks, but he tensed away from the shadow feien imperceptably before turning toward Burgundia's greeting.
"I'm Hadrian." He took her hand, smiling warmly, "Its a pleasure to meet you. I'd like to be Lady Soho's friend, as this is only our second meeting I think I shouldn't go jumping to assumptions."
He appeared to be making an effort to make sure he phrased things politely, which sometimes worked and sometimes seemed a little stilted.

Silva cursed, looking over at Dee. "Sorry. Bad joke." He muttered, running a hand over his face. Dee was important to Soho, therefore she was important to him. And as crazy as she could be, she was decent enough. And what else did he say? Sorry for killing your brother? No hard feelings? He had basically avoided the subject until now, then he opened his big ******** mouth and--

"He's nice! And he can make fire!" Soho said cheerfully.

Burgundia appeared to do a Southern Belle handshake, which was graciously squeeze Hadrian's - though there was a mild shock, since fire blood and cold blood did not make for a mild handshake. "Please surely don't mind what I say. It's been..."

Whatever it had been was apparently hard to put on her lips; she drew away her hand with another nod to the fire feien, putting one hand on Soho's shoulder for some kind of strength. "Don't get me wrong," she said, not looking at Silva. "Never get me wrong." Nevah. The accent always got even more unbearable when she talked fast. "I hate my brother. I hate him and he's burnin' in Hell for what he did. You just took away my sin and my responsibility for - stoppin' him; and I owe you everything. It's just... difficult, to know how to bear this like a woman, so I'll be a little green 'till I wrap my head around coping. Now," Dee said daintily, "let's get off the damned subject fo'-evah."

Hadrian lifted his eyebrows slightly, feeling as if he was an unwelcome extra presence in this conversation. Apparently something very ... well violent anyway...had happened. It explained why Burgundia considered these dangerous times...and it rather fit with Silva too. Usually curiosity did wonders to prod Hadrian into asking about these things, but in this case, he definitely knew it was a bad idea to bring it up.

"You were a ******** kid, Dee. I was the adult. And of all the feien in this whole damn place, I was the one that could do it best." Silva told her, ignoring her comment about dropping it. "Don't you dare think it was your responsibility."

"Mister Silva--" Soho said softly, looking up at him. "I think we need to go now." She leaned forward, hugging her sister's waist. "I love you, Dee."

Burgundia took both of Ruby's hands and kissed them, on the palms. "I love you something awful," she said. "Mind your papas and I'll come visit you soon."

One more kiss, and she dropped the juvenile's fingers, throwing Hadrian a glance of what was very near thankfulness for not bringing it up in front of her sister; then she gave one of her rather horrible, clear and angelic smiles to Silva, the ones more appropriate for a crazy nun. "She created you in weakness, and after weakness was appointed strength; whomsoever wrongs your blood, cut them out. You are absolved of all guilt. God bless you, Silva."

"I have no idea what you mean... but thanks." He said with a nod. "Let's go, Soho." He muttered, nodding to the male feien before taking to the air.

"Bye Dee! Bye Hadrian!" She called happily, waving as she took to the air and chasing after Silva. She caught up easily and soon they were down the stairs and out of sight.

"Sins of the fathers," Burgundia murmured, watching them both go; it seemed more a comment to herself than to Hadrian. "I hope she never grows up."

"Bye Soho!" Hadrian waved, enthusiastically, as the juvenile left. The conversation, however, had left him somewhat confused. First of all, Burgundia had apparently been a juvenile fairly recently - which made that young man comment confusing. Apparently Silva had...killed someone? Burgundia's brother...apparently...whom she hated...it was all a bit jumbled in his head.
"uh..." He turned to Burgundia, as if to confirm that she wanted the matter dropped or if she might offer some explaination.

-coming soon-

Feien D&D - The valiant hero's of the light strike out against the evil champion of shadow to save the fair lady Galatea from his clutches. The power goes out, and there is snow.

Cheer up Captain Rabik - Part 1 - in which Hadrian and Galatea discuss what Captain Serfima needs to stop being such a grouch all the time, and in the process somehow make each other blush and behave in disgustingly cute fashions.

The note attached, written in perfect copperplate, reads:

Dear Hadrian,

I hope you like the present. I thought of you when I saw it. I believe it is supposed to be a baby phoenix and I believe that suits you very well. That is, the phoenix part suits you. You are not at all like a baby. You are very special and very clever and I am proud to call you friend. It is impossible to thank you enough for everything you have done for me. Just as it is impossible to express my admiration properly and thoroughly.

Yours friend,
Galatea